Search form

Search form

Global demand for software and systems designed to prevent distributed-denial-of-service attacks will fuel 18.2% annual growth in that part of the cybersecurity sector over the next four years, according to IDC, which estimates the market will reach $870 million by 2017. The analyst firm pointed to a surge in the number of "zombie" computers, which typically serve as the platform for DDoS attacks, while noting the rise of cloud computing and mobile access could increase the risk level for targets such as financial services companies.

Related Summaries

Employees are carrying around a number of applications on their smartphones that no longer work or are no longer supported, an Appthority report finds. The assessment of mobile apps found that between 4% and 5% of all apps on iOS and Android devices are so-called "zombies," which can act as backdoors for hackers into corporate networks.

Cloud-hardware spending totaled $8 billion in the fourth quarter, up 14.4% from the year before, IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Cloud IT Infrastructure Tracker says. IDC says cloud-hardware investments make up 30% of all IT infrastructure spending, and public-cloud infrastructure spending has increased 17.5% since 2013.

Global demand for software and systems designed to prevent distributed denial of service, or DDoS, attacks will fuel 18.2% annual growth in that part of the cybersecurity sector over the next four years, according to IDC, which estimates the market will reach $870 million by 2017. The analyst firm pointed to a surge in the number of "zombie" computers, which typically serve as the platform for DDos attacks, while noting the rise of cloud computing and mobile access could increase the risk level for targets such as financial services companies.

DNS servers can be easily exploited for widespread distributed-denial-of-service attacks if they're not properly configured, researchers say. "Recursive DNS servers are what allow the Internet to work. They are also an attack vector," system administrator Trevor Pott wrote in a blog post.

Global IT spending is expected to increase 6% this year, propelled by demand for mobile-computing devices, software and storage, according to research firm IDC, which expects the same level of growth next year. Yet U.S. tech spend isn't expected to be quite as robust, with IDC predicting an increase of 5.9% in 2012, compared with 8.5% last year.